August 29, 2008

We would be very interested in getting comments from those on the cutting edge of this important discussion. If you are in a leadership role, on either side, don’t be afraid to be transparent! The public wants that in it’s leaders, and avoiding it, causes distrust.

Do You Dare?

August 21, 2008

We should be able to make distinctions, whether they are philosophical, or economic. In this case, the philosophy and the economy both fall on the same side of the issue. School is cheaper than prison!

It’s not just a rhetorical question. I would expect that some serious discussion, would lead to some serious ratings help, and serious subscription increases!

Why give local officials a pass? Especially when a comment or statement by one of them begs for another question? For instance: When Ms. Fleming made the statement, “Bless their hearts, what they are forgetting, is that Smith county is still under a remedial order by the state of Texas.” about those opposed to the new jail bond proposal, the logical next question should be: “Does this order require the building of a new jail, or is there room for other methods?” This line of questioning could lead to some serious open discussion of the issues behind the issue.

The media is allowing this to be framed by the officials, who can thus avoid the serious why and how part of the problem, allowing this issue to become something like: “There are those who agree with us, who are in favor of truth, justice, and the American way, and those who oppose us want to let murderers, rapists, and child molesters run free on our streets!” The issue is much more complicated than that, and unless we can open the discussion beyond this point, the root of the problem will remain.

Have we sunken to a point where only questions pre-approved by politicians can be asked?

March 3, 2008

The political front in the Smith county area has been very silent lately with the exception of the Sheriffs race, and the county Commissioners seats up for grabs. We haven’t been able to get much information on the candidates. If someone out there has some information on the candidates that they are willing to share, we would be glad to include your two cents worth in the comments section.

If you are a candidate for one of these positions, we would love to have your comments as well! We will publish them uncut, as long as they fall within the WordPress guidelines.

Sometimes it seems like there is some type of veil, or barrier in the area when it comes to online communications. We would love to see that barrier torn down, and get more open communication for all different view points.

Local advertising is picking up a bit, with the websites, www.etexbiz.com and www.tyler.com, two totally opposite styles, maybe things are picking up! We will see.

February 9, 2008

The city of Tyler, and the county of Smith, well, maybe the entire state of Texas needs to take a look at outlawing the use of cellular devices while driving. It is causing major traffic problems, causing untold, and unreported numbers of accidents, many of them deadly. Not only should the hand held devices be illegal to use while driving, so should the earphone types. The “borg” looking creatures who use these turn off the driving portions of their brains, and turn into hazardous drivers! If the state, county, and the city do not do something about this, they should profusely apologize to, and reimburse every driver ever convicted of driving while intoxicated!

We believe that the public is best served by open discourse. It is the spirit on which this country was founded. In that spirit, I would like to invite the public to comment on the upcoming election season, the primaries, and the May election as well. Let us know about what you have on your mind. If you are a local official, we would love to hear from you. If you are a party official, we would love to hear from you. You already know my opinions, now give us yours. You can do that here, or on our sister blog tax.dotrevolt.info

Feel Free to share your thoughts and ideas, avoid profanity, or encouraging illegal activities, and we will publish your comments. Whether you have election related, jail related, local issues, Smith county, city of Tyler, roads, bridges, taxes, or if you just hate insurance companies (yes Mr. Miller, I hate them too, and you are welcome to comment as well) write your thoughts in our comment section, and get the debate started!